//------------------------------//
// Hotel Hell: The First in Ponyville part 4 
// Story: Kitchen Nightmares: Equestrian Misadventures 
// by Spettro138 
//------------------------------//

After Gordon and Twilight left Applejack with Lily, they slowly made their way back towards the hotel. Lily needed time to gather her thoughts and obviously a lot to tell her folks later. Gordon could imagine that two children and a husband nopony ever knew about would come as a big shock. Hopefully, he could help her when that confrontation came about, but for now, he had other pressing matters. With everything that had happened to her and everything that had been said up to that point, if they were in her position, they wouldn't know what to do either. However, the subject of parents gave Gordon an idea. Perhaps if they met the Flower Sisters' parents, they could get through properly to Daisy and Rose. It was worth a shot as they had exhausted many of their options. Were those two mares really capable of change and able to shoulder the responsibility of running that hotel? 

Gordon and Twilight met with Rose and Daisy and asked them to call their parents to the hotel so they could all meet and talk about the past few days. It was time to enter the final stage of their plan and the duo knew what had to be done. 

The duo waited patiently outside at one of the cafe's tables while they waited for the Flower Sisters to come back. Spike had run over from the castle with a basket full of sandwiches and tea for the mare while Gordon he had a few fish tacos and a nice lemonade prepared. 

"Finally, some good fucking food," Gordon said thoroughly pleased.

Spike shoved his fist into his mouth to prevent himself from laughing, as Twilight gave the drake the stink eye. 

"Gotta get out of here," he wheezed in between laughs.

The drake held it in as he ran off back towards the castle giggling like a maniac and crying from the laughter.

"What can you tell me about their parents Twilight? I don't think I've seen them since we've been here." Gordon asked.

"I met them once briefly when I first moved here and have seen them around now and then, but I don't think I've talked to them since. They seem to keep to themselves. Apparently, they used to be one of Ponyville's primary Apothecaries before Ponyville Hospital was rebuilt."

"Doesn't your friend Zecora do that? I'm not much of a wizard or an alchemist, but she seems to use herbs and plants in the same fashion as an Apothecary." 

"Yes, she has sort of stepped in as an advisor and Potion Master to help Ponyville Hospital with any remedies and treatments that they might not be educated enough to deal with. She's...also been something of a second teacher to me every so often."

"Where do their parents live? The Sisters' parents."

Twilight froze.

"I...don't know," she said. "I know the Flower Sisters lived in that apartment together, but...I don't think I ever really wondered where their parents lived."

"That apartment is pretty big. Perhaps they live with them?" Gordon offered.

"Hm, probably."

When Daisy and Lily came back, two older ponies were following them. One was a yellow earth pony with a gray mane and the other was a hot pink mare with a brown mane. They smiled when they saw Twilight, but looked somewhat surprised when they turned their eyes to Gordon.

'They must not get out much. I've been here for a week.' the human thought.

"Your Highness and Chef, these are our parents," Daisy presented.

The older mare stepped up first and spoke with a thick Sianeishse accent, smiling warmly at them both. 

"Good day to you your highness, and to you to Mr. Human," she greeted with a light-hearted laugh. "I am Li Lac."

The colt then stepped forward and gave a deep, respectful bow to Twilight, speaking in a scraggly, rough voice.

"The name's Daff O'Dil."

"It's good to officially meet the both of you," Twilight said. "I don't think I've seen either of you a lot since I first moved to Ponyville."

The colt coughed politely into his hoof and rubbed the back of his neck. Gordon still wondered how equines were built with the joints to be able to do that.

"We beg your pardon, your majesty," Li Lac chimed in. "We focus so much on our apothecary and our daughters' business that we hardly have time for anything."

"That is exactly, what we want to talk with all of you about," Gordon added. 

"Yes, and why don't we go inside so we can talk about it?" Twilight suggested.

Everyone did just that as they went into the main office on the first floor. Gordon and Twilight told them to sit down, which they did, albeit rather nervously. Unsure as to why they were gathered there.

"Twilight and I wanted you all here to sort of shed some light on the things going on at this hotel." Gordon stated. "Every single aspect of this place is so fragmented. The rooms are a mess, the staff and the owners are always at each other's throats, the owners and the manager are at each other's throats, and worst of all, they don't do a fucking thing about it!"

"On top of everything, Lily was not only made JUST the general manager, but these two have treated her poorly," Twilight said.

Li Lac and Daff O'Dil glared at the two mares who tried to make themselves as small as possible.

"Mr. O'Dil," Gordon said. "How much do you and your wife work here with your daughters?"

"Pretty much every day," he admitted. "It is hard not being able to get out and relax."

Twilight turned to Li Lac who did her best to look cheerful and chipper, but tiredness seemed to flood out of her eyes. They had been told before that their mother fed them every day, but the alicorn finally realized that feeding was not just what she did.

"When was the last time you had a break Li Lac?" Twilight asked. "I can tell you've been here every day too."

"Not at all really your highness. I do get frustrated sometimes. I'm always telling them that they need to learn to do all the work themselves."

"And you seriously need to teach them responsibility the way it was forced onto Lily," Gordon said to Daff. "She has actually had to face the harshness of reality and what it means to have something major on the line."

"What does that mean?" the elder colt asked with heat. "What's wrong with Lily? What's wrong with my daughter Princess?"

"Nothing. She's completely fine, but I think she has something important to tell both of you."  Twilight insisted. "It's the primary reason why she's been away from Ponyville a lot. I know you have probably noticed at least that. However, her secret is not ours to tell. She deserves to tell you without somepony else's outside intervention. I have no right to take that  away from her."

The parents looked at each other and nodded, agreeing to wait for Lily to tell them herself.

"I have three daughters myself, and I can tell you that responsibility has to be taught to them firmly and harshly when needed. If they have a hard time running a tiny little flower shop, and just barely manage to scrape by without tripping over themselves, you should have told them no. Running a business is serious and if you can't handle it, then start from scratch so you can learn. These girls will not survive in the wider world if they can't learn something."

Twilight had a thought grow in her mind about how she might help the family. It was a risky plan, but if it succeeded, they could both come out stronger than they were and perhaps relate more to Lily's sacrifices.

"Mr. O'Dil, do you want to be here?" Twilight asked sincerely.

The stallion seemed to contemplate his answer before shaking his head.

"I certainly wouldn't want to come here on a regular basis anymore," he replied.

Twilight then turned to Li Lac who shook her head almost immediately expecting the question.

"Daisy, do you honestly want to be here?"

"...No...not really," Daisy sighed.

The last one in the room Twilight and Gordon turned to was Rose who was beginning to look like a cornered deer after it was caught by a predator.

"Lily, do you REALLY want to be here?" Gordon asked.

The room was silent for a minute as all eyes were on the red-maned mare who couldn't make direct eye contact with anypony. Finally, she actually started to stare at the ground and genuinely cry for the first time in years. No dramatics, no exaggerated noises, just a mare who had finally realized how small and immature she really was.

"...No, I don't," she said. "Not without...Lily here." Rose admitted. "I miss us being a team. We didn't do much, but I loved what we had. I wish I could say sorry to her, we should have supported her after we found out what happened.

Li Lac and Daff O'Dil went up to their daughters and hugged them tightly.

"Gordon and I will deal with Lily. Life is too special for families to be hating each other forever. Especially not in Ponyville. Watching my friends hate each other hurts me a lot. In fact, we'll deal with that by this evening. But for now, I have an idea for you to get out of Ponyville for a while. There's a Doctor friend of mine who comes to town often. Crazy old stallion in a young colt's body. Travels everywhere and anywhere getting into trouble. I think you could use some trouble to...mature yourself. He'll be a good influence on you."

"Doctor Who?" Daff asked. "I don't think I want just any stallion traveling with my daughter your highness."

"That information is...classified. But I can assure you, he's been designated as a Praetorian in the Royal Guard. No matter how much he has insisted not to be." Twilight insisted. "I would trust him with anypony."

Gordon for some reason mentally checked himself after a thought crept into his mind as to who the "crazy old stallion" she was talking about was, but he shook his head.

'BBC science fiction characters in a land of talking ponies? Don't make me laugh,' he chastised himself internally.

"What about me?" Daisy asked resigned.

Twilight sized her up, wondering if she was really ready for the next step. Unfortunately, the only way she was going to change for the better is if she was pushed past the brink into unknown territory. Both of the girls were going to have to grow up quickly. Rose more so, but Lily at least would have a chance to eventually make something of herself in Manehatten.

"I think you need to go and get into the city. I'm going to have Applejack contact her Orange family cousins to give you a chance for a job."

Daisy was not expecting that, but after thinking it over, she agreed to it after her parents affirmed Twilight's suggestion. Surprisingly, she took it without much fuss and even seemed to be looking forward to what was to come.

"Each of you is trapped in this hotel," Gordon said. "I want all of you to make a final decision as a family. Do you want to have a proper general manager running this hotel in your stead? Or do you want to sell it or shut it down for good?"

An hour later after a much-needed discussion, the Flower Family, excluding Lily had come to a decision on what will happen to the Butter Mellow Cafe and Hotel going forward. They called the entire staff back to the main dining room to make their announcement as Twilight went off somewhere to get somepony important.

"As the owners, we've talked for a while, and we have something important to say," Rose stated. "We will be stepping out of the picture at the Hotel for the foreseeable future while we pursue...other career opportunities. The Princess has hired a new General Manager that will be taking full control of the hotel and hiring on an assistant manager to help on the weekends.

On cue, the sound of the front doors opening were heard, followed by a fast-paced trotting into the dining room. Around the corner came Twilight, Applejack, and Lily Valley who had a neutral, unsure look on her face.

"We'd like to formally welcome back the Butter Mellow Hotel's General Manager," Gordon cheerfully announced.

Everyone in the room including Lily's family brightened up as they almost immediately starting clapping their hooves in applause to her. Dandy ran up and hugged her, followed by her ecstatic parents who kissed and hugged her violently.

"I hear, you have something to tell us," Daff said. "...But from the look in your eyes, I think I have an inkling."

Lily suddenly looked scared and confused, but her mother and father just shook their heads.

"We aren't mad. We promise. We're just a little disappointed that if...are suspicions are correct. We weren't there to see our grandchildren born."

Months of stress and negative emotions finally let the flood gates open on Lily as she cried there in the middle of the floor with her parents. Rose and Daisy watched from afar, but stayed away, still feeling ashamed. After she had been given enough time, she wiped her eyes and smiled.

"I promise, I'll explain everything tonight," she said.

"We're looking forward to it," Daff agreed.





"After having a heart-to-heart chat with Applejack and Twilight, I realized that Ponyville is still my home. I want to figure out some way to keep both of my families together...no matter how difficult they may be to deal with." Lily explained.





"We are pleased you are back Lily," Gordon said. "You are an asset to this hotel, and a member of the Ponyville extended family it seems. Your sisters, however, will be leaving this hotel and according to Twilight, Ponyville."

"What?"

Twilight re-explained her plan to send both Rose and Daisy on extended excursions. One to the other side of the country, and the other to unknown parts. The hope was that in time, both would grow and mature enough that by the time they came back, their personalities would have changed for the better. Lily was unsure, but she walked up to the both of them who were still avoiding her gaze. They knew she was standing in front of them, but after everything that had been said and had happened, the mares weren't sure how to proceed.

"...We're sorry Lily." Rose began. "We just didn't want to lose you. We've been best friends since the beginning, and it just felt like...you were abandoning us."

"We know we have issues dealing with most things," Daisy added. "But I guess the thought of some stallion stealing you away from us just, really hurt."

Lily grappled both of the mares into a hug which they reciprocated after a few moments of silence.

"Oh girls," Lily sighed. "I would never abandon you. This whole thing has been hard on me too. You're my sisters. I still love you. No matter how much our interests of personalities may have changed lately. I just have two new lives to take care of. They need me and I have to be away a lot. But even after, I guess my plans are now canceled, I still don't really have a way to make travel any easier."

"And I think that's where I should step in," Twilight said. 

Igniting her horn, she projected a three-dimensional image of what looked like a platform made of crystal. Gordon was still quite astounded as to the level of detail the alicorn was able to put into her projections, once you get past that they are completely purple half the time.

"One of your crazy magic contraptions Twilight?" Gordon asked.

"Oh, you have no idea," Applejack smirked.

"Something like that," Twilight giggled. "It's a prototype teleportation platform I've been working on. I was toying with the idea of someday making conventional travel a thing of the past, especially for ponies who have to travel long distances and don't have the aid of a powerful unicorn or alicorn to teleport. Unfortunately, it only allows the pony who imprints their magical signature onto it to pass through. A bit of a hang-up. However, until I get it worked out, I would like you to be the one to use it, Lily. You can more frequently travel between Trottingham and Ponyville every day if you want."

She felt so overwhelmed with emotion that she tackled Twilight into a tearful hug, which the alicorn reciprocated. 

"Thank you, Thank you, Thank You, Thank You!" Lily exclaimed. "That's what I've wanted since the start!"

Everyone had a moment as they all took turns hugging and congratulating Lily. Everyone was bustling with excitement after hearing that Lily had a new colt friend and two foals. Applejack most of all seemed to be the most supportive of Lily through this whole excursion as she came up to her and held Lily's hooves gently. Gordon could tell there was some sort of kinship between the two. A similar background perhaps? Family troubles? Perhaps he would ask the earth pony later if it wasn't too much of a personal question.

"Now everything is out in the open, Twilight and I along with the rest of her friends have something big planned," Gordon explained. "Tomorrow the Butter Mellow Hotel and Cafe is reopening with some big changes. So I'd like everyone to go home and enjoy the rest of the day."

They seemed confused, but with Twilight and Applejack's calm insistence, they accepted and began exiting the hotel so that Gordon and the girls could begin working on the finale of their first Hotel Hell. Jay and the camera crew set up static, stationary cameras in the dining room and lobby for their speed transition footage while Applejack left to grab Pinkie and Rarity so they could fulfill their respective tasks.

"Today, everyone wins for once," Gordon said. "The family is repaired, for the time being, the sisters are going off to separate places to grow and mature, and Lily has both a steady job AND a way to travel back and forth to her kids quicker.

"Let's just hope that they can change for the better with what we set up for them," Twilight pondered. "But...I think my stallion friend will handle Rose just fine. Its Daisy I'm a little worried about."

"As long as the Oranges, I believe they are called don't coddle her too much, she should be fine."

"Oh I wouldn't worry too much about that," Applejack reassured them.

They turned around and saw she had returned with the others who were ready and willing to help. Rarity brought Spike who was dragging a cart filled to the ceiling with different fabrics, linens, drapes, stuffings, and rolls of cloth of every shape, thickness, and color imaginable. The human felt a bit sorry for the poor dragon who was huffing and puffing trying to keep up a strong front but visibly struggling.

"You ok there Spike?" Gordon regarded.

"Oh sure, I'll be fine. Anything for milady," Spike struggled to say.

"When I heard you and Twilight were renovating this charming old place with Applejack, I was a little shocked." Rarity exclaimed. "You should have called me here earlier darlings, I could have told you what was wrong with this place as soon as I stepped in!"

"Sorry about that Rarity," Twilight apologized. "With everything going on, it just sort of slipped our minds. Applejack, did you bring everyone up to speed about Lily?"

Pinkie pulled a birthday party list out of her mane and showed it to Twilight. It listed everypony's birthday in Ponyville and when it would be.

"Oh silly willy, I already knew about them! I dashed to Trottingham to help celebrate their first birthday! Lily made me Pinkie Promise though not to say anything. It was sad everyone couldn't see our two new friends, but a Pinkie Promise is a Pinkie Promise."

Twilight had figured as much. You can't sneak a new citizen of Ponyville past Pinkie. You were going to be her friend and be invited to one of her parties no matter how far away you are. 

"I did not know, but I am glad we found out. I wish we had found out sooner. Or that Lily had a colt friend of her own finally," Rarity stated forlornly. "I would have made her the most beautiful wedding dress had she ever had need of one!"

"Glad to hear your priorities are in the right place," Gordon muttered sarcastically. "Though we are glad to have your help. We need to fix up and clean anything that needs to be replaced, cleaned, fixed, or trashed by tomorrow morning. We are going to be reopening the hotel and unveil a new chapter for this business."

Rarity gave a big giddy smile and levitated her special glasses onto her snout as she quickly began dashing through the hotel, drawing notes and ideas on her pad, getting to work immediately.

"You are very lucky then that I am here Gordon," Rarity declared. "I shall inspect the rooms and come back to you as soon as I can with a few...minor adjustment ideas."

"Don't be putting Gold leaf or jewel-encrusted paint on the walls or anything like that," Twilight reminded. "Remember this is supposed to be a middle-class star hotel for a growing castle town, not a place for Canterlot nobility.

Rarity stopped and laughed nervously as a comedic sweat bead seemed to appear on her temple.

"Of course! I knew that! There's no reason however I can't bring my absolute best to such an important historic building."

Gordon told some of his design crew to go with Rarity and swap ideas as they determined what to do with the rooms. He had an idea as to how Applejack could help breathe new life into the menu of the Café with Pinkie's help.

"Pinkie, Applejack my darlings, how are you with arranging a menu?" Gordon asked curiously.

"Oh! That's easy. I do that every so often for the Cake's bakery when I come up with new pastries and drinks!" Pinkie replied.

"Well its not a restaurant, but whenever we sell anything from our stalls, make deliveries, or right from the farm, we do make some menus, so I'm alright at it I guess," Applejack said.

Gordon pulled them into the kitchen to make a few adjustments and invited Spike along to help. It would be fairly modest work a the very least and not involve carrying a cart load of supplies. Twilight meanwhile went back and forth supervising the whole process as everything was getting ready to be unveiled. The four cameras in the main dining room were kept on all day and night as they recorded everything that had happened. Every stubbed hoof, every mess, every thrown pie, every stepped on tail, and every paint covered mare that moved through the hotel.

Everyone worked through the night nonstop with a bit of help from Pinkie's extra strength espresso machine she had brought along with her. Gordon felt more wired than he had ever been in his life after a single sip, but it definitely helped. He would have to sleep the rest of the next day after it wore off but it was worth it. Day turned into night, which in turn eventually turned into morning, which meant they were finally ready. Gordon and Twilight messaged everyone to meet in front of the hotel to surprise everypony on what they had done.

Gordon and Twilight went outside just as the sun had start to rise over the rooftops of Ponyville. The Flower Family and their staff circled the corner to find the duo greeting them warmly.

"Good morning! Welcome to the new and improved Butter Mellow Hotel and Cafe." Gordon announced. "This is a historic building and a very special hotel, but now its somewhere that guests are going to be incredibly well looked after."

From the front, it didn't appear that the hotel had changed much, save for the new yellow canopy that covered the dining area of the café and the rest of the tables from rain and the rest of the elements. The table cloths were also changed out for fresh white ones with shiny new tableware. A new hanging sign had been erected in front of the hotel with what looked like the cutie mark of the previous owner. A butter dish and a slice of bread in the middle of the bright yellow embossed lettering into the metal.

"The exterior is merely a small cosmetic improvement. Along with a canopy you can now deploy and pull back depending on the weather. After that little downpour that ruined my sandwiches here, that's especially been at the back of my mind for ages."

Rainbow Dash napping nearby on a low hanging cloud sneezed, getting the feeling somepony was talking about her.

Everyone followed the duo into the hotel and immediately noticed a difference. The blase grey wallpaper was replaced with a fresh coat of cream colored paint and the rugs and carpets were thoroughly cleaned and straightened. The front reception desk was repolished and repaired with brand new supplies for the receptionist. The lobby smelled strongly of potpourri and pine. Strangely enough, Equestria had their own version of Earth's own pine scented floor cleaner. A welcome coincidence that Gordon took advantage of. 

The group was led upstairs and into the room that the Flower Sisters had initially tried to push on Twilight and Gordon. The honeymoon suite allegedly that was called the "Symphony of Romance." Everyone who had followed Twilight and Gordon were taken aback by what was presented. 

"Here we have your brand new honeymoon suite for VIP guests," Gordon announced. "Gone are those burnt curtains, stained carpets, and destroyed wallpaper. Now we have a vibrant coat of kelly green paint and new black and white striped sheets. The carpets in every room are now going to be made from local sheep owned by the Apple Family. With this one serving as the prototype. So thank you very much for that Applejack my darling."

"Happy to oblige Gordon," Applejack replied. "Just glad our extra wool can be put to good use."

"And doing something I have never considered before in my professional career, I had Twilight and Miss Rarity reinforce the rooms with their magic so that now your guests can't accidentally burn the building down."  Gordon continued. "After seeing that burn mark in the ceiling earlier, I don't think I want to know what kind of freaky shit ponies get up to during private moments."

"You obviously haven't passed by the Cake's house at night," Spike quipped.

"Aw, are Mr. and Mrs. Cake throwing parties without me?" Pinkie asked innocently.

"Not the kind of parties you want to join unless that's your thing," Spike replied.

That statement from Spike received a swift slap to the back of the head from Twilight which sent the room into an uproar of laughter. 

Twilight went into a detailed explanation on the various runes and enchantments that she had included while dancing around the things they were meant to either block or resist. Gordon did his best to follow along with the various calculations she had made to construct each rune. Math was a huge part of cooking and biology so there was a degree of Twilight's overly complicated explanations that he could understand. Everypony else just stared at her with glossed over eyes. When she was finished with the explanation, Gordon took back over the introduction of the other features of the room.

"Miss Rarity provided us with new linens, new blankets, and new cushions for ALL of the rooms straight from her shop. Beautiful and locally made. The box frames of every bed were specially commissioned to the Apple Family to make. Also amazing works of craftsmanship."

Applejack raised her snout proudly at the praise from everypony and crossed her hooves into the stance she often used.





"I was just shocked in a spectacular way," Lily laughed. "I...haven't felt this excited to actually be running a business in a long time. The honeymoon suite is now a room that I will be proud to market to VIP guests who stay here. I'm not getting my hopes up, but maybe even the princesses will come and stay in this room. Who knows at this point?"





"And from now on, why don't we keep both hotel entrances open at all times during business hours eh?" Gordon asked rhetorically. "We installed new electric light down there and fixed the doors."

Gordon pulled everyone's attention to a brand new cherry wood compact wardrobe in the corner where somepony could hang their dresses or coats.

"But that is not the only new room we have installed," Twilight added. "We have something else on the roof that we would like to show off."

Both human and alicorn led the group up a few flights of stairs and through the fifth story door to the rooftop that was allegedly left unused since the hotel was built. Once everypony went through the doorway and into the sunlight, every mare in the group squealed with excitement at what was there.

"Here we have something that Gordon gave me an idea about to make," Twilight explained. "With Fluttershy's help, who couldn't be here, unfortunately, we have made a rooftop bar and a secondary area for the cafe to overlook Ponyville while customers and guests dine."

The edges of the roof were lined with planter boxes filled with a beautiful variety of flowers that lit up the place and gave it a unique aura. The roof was tiled with special cream-colored marble that gleamed in the sunlight. Several tables and chairs were scattered all over, giving a sizable capacity size for diners to come in. The white table cloths were also provided by Rarity which was magically held down by simple enchantments to keep them from blowing off. A small bar with a canopy was off to the side that had a number of local beers, wines, and the Apple family's ciders on tap. Several heating lamps were gathered in the corner for evening diners that wished to have a romantic dinner under Luna's moon.

"In many cities and towns on Earth, restaurants and various businesses have taken advantage of the rooftops of the buildings that they inhabit to create open areas with gorgeous views of the city. With that in mind, your hotel will be beginning a practice that we hope to extend to the rest of Equestria."

The owners and staff were so flabbergasted and touched by what they saw that they hardly registered Pinkie popping up out of nowhere and dragging them to a long table which she prepared in a flash. Gordon was somewhat put off by the bubbly mare's erratic behavior but rolled with it, asking her to bring up the food he and Twilight had just prepared downstairs.

"Coming right up!" she replied.

In only a minute, she was back up in a flash with three shiny silver trays being balanced on her head and a trolley being pulled from behind with her eldritch prehensile tail. All the while as always, she maintained her cheerful demeanor as if nothing was out of the ordinary. For her close friends, nothing was, but for Gordon and his cameramen, they might as well have been in the presence of some unfathomable being. Once again, it took a moment for Gordon's brain to reboot after watching another one of Pinkie's impossible antics but he soon recovered and kept going.

"Thank you my darling," he said.

With a signal, Twilight placed the food on the long table cutting through the center of the rooftop and unveiled the various trays Pinkie had brought up. Li-Lac in particular smiled gleefully at what was underneath.

"Here we have my interpretation of what I believe is called "Sianeighse" cuisine. It was inspired to me by Miss Li Lac who I believe has a history with that," Gordon presented.

Once again, Applejack, Twilight, and Pinkie found their stomachs growling at the food Gordon had made. It was a gorgeous combination of colors and smells that created a symphony of the senses. Gordon pointed to each dish, detailing the special ingredients he used in each.

"A wonderful Sianeighse carrot soup for those colder evenings, classic spring rolls for any occasion to brighten up your plate, a stunning red vegetable curry to sink your teeth into, a variety of salads made from local veggies in the Ponyville area, and one dish that I thought was a joke, but apparently Miss Applejack has added to the menu personally. A beautiful Caramelized Apple Fried Rice which I can attest to is odd but rather delicious."

"Thank you kindly Gordon, that was actually a bit of a weird experiment a year back I tried for drumming up business during the Winter Moon Festival. I'm just glad it can be put in place for good."

"And the normal menu downstairs at the cafe is still intact, but now you are taking more advantage of our farms and purveyors here in Ponyville," Twilight added.





"I am quite excited to see my heritage on the menu for everypony to appreciate," Li Lac said tearfully to the interviewer. "It's been so long since I have seen anything resembling home and...sniff...I'm sorry.

Li-Lac began to get teary-eyed and cry happy tears.

"I think, this will be a great...new step for this hotel. Hopefully, my daughters will take it as great inspiration going forward, wherever their paths may take them."





Everypony gave Li-Lac and Daff O'Dil loud applause which spilled down to the street below. Ponies from out of town walking by were noticing everything that had been done to the hotel and already pouring in, hoping to see what had been changed and perhaps even booking a room for the night. With everything that had been seen and done in only a few hours, the staff was rejuvenated for the first time in a very long time for the day ahead.

The Flower Sisters' parents were enjoying themselves to lunch on the rooftop cafe with the new Sianeighse menu. Lily was busy greeting guests into the hotel and drumming up business in the lobby, and the kitchen staff with their confidence and drive refreshed, got to work on every order that came in. There couldn't have been a better general manager than Lily to pilor the Butter Mellow Cafe and Hotel

Unfortunately, old habits were dying hard for the other two Flower Sisters as they started making a mess of things and interfering with everypony's work. Twilight had caught this immediately and ignited her horn to signal the one stallion she needed right now.

"Ladies," Twilght grumbled. "I think its time we packed your bags and sent you on your way. Rose, I already have your...ride coming to pick you up, and Daisy, you are leaving to get ready for the next train bound for Manehatten. NOW please."

Daisy and Rose protested but acquiesced to Twilight's command as they left to gather their belongings at home. In the distance, Twilight heard a familiar sound that always made her smile. A sound like a wheezing, groaning being pumped out of some monstrous generator pulsing and struggling to maintain itself.

"About time that Mad Pony and his box showed up," Twilight exclaimed humorously. 

Gordon standing outside the hotel with the alicorn stared down at her and cleared his ears to make sure he was hearing her correctly.

"I thought that's what you said."

Twilight then felt a familiar warm, pulsing sensation on her flank as she looked down with pride and saw her cutie mark was flashing. An indicator that she had finally fixed the severe friendship problem that had been plaguing them for days now.

"That's a neat trick. I didn't know you could do that too Twilight," Gordon said. "I probably should ask why your rump is glowing and if that's normal?"

"Just means that we did a good job here. Although, I would like to know why the Cutie Map didn't register the Friendship problem before. As bad as it was, the map should have been alerting us about it months back, but it didn't. Its just another big problem on the list I'm gonna have to deal with soon."

Gordon and Twilight stood there soaking in the success of their first episode of Hotel Hell, idly wondering what should come next on their itinerary. As if the universe was mocking them, Pinkie then stumbled out of the hotel wearing aviator glasses, a fisherman's hat, a yellow and black tropical shirt, and a foot long candy stick in her teeth. She stared intently at Gordon and Twilight as she inched closer and closer with a crazy look in her eye. She seemed to be moving like some kind of demon possessed zombie in the midst of a drunken stupor. Not unusual to see her like this, but still surprising.

"Pinkie? Did you need something in particular?" Twilight asked nervously.

"I just got a call from an old flame." Pinkie said in a strangely tired, gravely, and fast voice. "They want us to come to Las Pegasus at once. Make contact with Pipsqueak's uncle. A Pegasus Photographer named Trotcerda, he'll have all the details on our next assignment for Equestria. Flim and Flam's hotel is right in the vortex. All we need to do is book a soundproof suite and he'll seek me out."

Twilight and Gordon looked at each other. On one hand they could just deny this request as it was just another one of Pinkie's goofy antics, but the pink earth pony had never led them wrong before so, Twilight was willing to take a risk this time if it led to a new problem location. Hopefully it wouldn't cost the alicorn and the chef their sanity.

"Sounds like trouble. I hope we don't need legal advice before this is over," Gordon groaned. "Guess I'm coming along whether I want to or not."

"Call for a firepony red fast chariot with no top. Rainbow Dash and Applejack will accompany us as our muscle." Pinkie stated overly seriously. "Bring me every type of sugar imaginable. The good stuff. I need my rocks and crystals and every soda you can get your hooves on. I'll bring along my tape recorder for special music and boogie nights. Get the heck out of Ponyville for at least 48 hours."

"Do I need to bring some royal guards armed to the teeth?" Twilight asked rather concerned.

"Hey! if a thing is worth doing, its worth doing right" Pinkie nodded. "This is gonna be the Equestrian Dream in action. We'd be fools not to ride this strange party cannon to the end."

"What's going on in...Las Pegasus exactly?" Gordon hesitated. "If its anything like its Earth counterpart, I'm already scared."

Pinkie grabbed a piece of dry ice and put it on her tongue, pretending to smoke the candy stick.

"The Chocolate Mint 500. The richest off-road baker race in the history of organized sport. My pride and joy as a baker depends on the Cake Family Pastry Racing Trolley winning every year. This year that fatback grosero Gladmane is back in town trying to move in on me and ruin Flim and Flam's hotel. That's what the press release says anyway. We'll have to cover this right. Pure Ponk...Journalism."


Next Time: The Equestrian Dream and Ponk Journalism